Alf Clausen has been fired from animated series "The Simpsons" after 27 years. You may not recognize Clausen's name, but you've undoubtedly heard his work. The 76-year-old composer arranged the current theme song of the popular animated series, which was written by Danny Elfman in 1989. According to Variety on Wednesday, Clausen was told by producer Richard Sakai that the show was looking for "a different kind of music." The reason for the dismissal hasn't been confirmed, but it likely involves budget cuts - the show's ratings have dropped as it prepares to head into its 29th season. Clausen uses a 35-piece orchestra each week, an expense that can add up to millions of dollars annually.The Minneapolis-born songsmith joined the Fox series during its second season, when he re-arranged Elfman's original score. "I had no interest in doing animation; I wanted to be a drama composer," Clausen said in a 2007 interview. "And Matt Groening said his favorite comment to me: 'We don't look upon this as being a cartoon, but a drama where the characters are drawn, and we would like it scored that way. Can you do that?'"The first episode Clausen scored was "Treehouse of Horror #1." His last complete score was for the final episode of the 28th season. He's scored more than 560 episodes of the series. Clausen has earned two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on "The Simpsons." He's received 30 nominations - more than any other musician.

Alf Clausen has been fired from animated series "The Simpsons" after 27 years.

You may not recognize Clausen's name, but you've undoubtedly heard his work. The 76-year-old composer arranged the current theme song of the popular animated series, which was written by Danny Elfman in 1989.

The reason for the dismissal hasn't been confirmed, but it likely involves budget cuts - the show's ratings have dropped as it prepares to head into its 29th season. Clausen uses a 35-piece orchestra each week, an expense that can add up to millions of dollars annually.

The Minneapolis-born songsmith joined the Fox series during its second season, when he re-arranged Elfman's original score.

"I had no interest in doing animation; I wanted to be a drama composer," Clausen said in a 2007 interview. "And Matt Groening said his favorite comment to me: 'We don't look upon this as being a cartoon, but a drama where the characters are drawn, and we would like it scored that way. Can you do that?'"

The first episode Clausen scored was "Treehouse of Horror #1." His last complete score was for the final episode of the 28th season. He's scored more than 560 episodes of the series.

Clausen has earned two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on "The Simpsons." He's received 30 nominations - more than any other musician.